


New Beginnings

by snaeken



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, First Kiss, House Party, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-21 15:36:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18705232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snaeken/pseuds/snaeken
Summary: For the last five years Mason has been promising himself he would tell Liam he's in love with him.





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> For kiss prompt 20. Surprised kiss (I prompted myself lol)

Liam laughs loudly at something one of the lacrosse guys next to him said. Mason didn't catch it, but it was apparently funny enough for Liam to scrunch his eyes closed and throw his head back, his favourite laugh of Liam's.

He chickened out again this summer, this month, this year, and now time has run out. For the last five years Mason has been promising himself he would tell Liam he's in love with him. He's come close a few times but never quite gone all the way, too scared about making things weird between them.

Liam is still laughing when he tries to take a drink of his beer, which Mason has told him countless times to stop doing, because every single time he spills it on his shirt. This time is no exception and Liam sighs, setting the bottle down on the floor and getting to his feet.

"Liam, how many times..."

"Every time." He sounds like a kicked puppy, and his pout doesn't help matters. He creates a path through the people in the house, Mason following close behind him. The first bathroom they try is occupied and a girl is heading for the next one, so Liam makes a dash for it and gets there before her. The girl scowls at them and Mason smiles at her apologetically, following Liam inside and locking the door behind them.

Mason leans against the wall awkwardly, matching Liam through the mirror while he cleans himself up. He could say it right now, just say _I'm in love with you_. Except he can't, the water is running, Liam might make a bigger mess of himself. No, he'll wait a bit longer.

"I can't believe it's really over," Liam says, almost to himself. He turns around and Mason's gaze is immediately drawn to the wet patch on his shirt. "It always kind of felt like high school would last forever, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know." To suddenly have freedom of choice for the first time in their lives is almost overwhelming. So many things in their lives have been decided for them instead of by them, and now it's all over. Tomorrow they're leaving Beacon Hills and going to college. _Different_  colleges.

Sure, they've been apart before, Liam went to Devenford Prep for a while. It's not the same though, not really. They still lived in the same town, it still only took Mason ten minutes tops to ride his bike over to Liam's house, he could go over whenever he liked and vice versa. No, this time they're going to school in different _states_. They're going to be half a country away from each other.

"San Diego University. I'm so, so proud of you, dude," Mason smiles. Liam had a blip with his IED right in the middle of exam season but he still managed to pull it out the bag and get into his first choice school.

"Oh please," Liam laughs. "You got into Harvard, Mase. _Harvard_. Come here."

Liam pulls him into a hug and Mason goes willingly, wrapping his arms around Liam and clinging on for dear life. He's so excited for everything that's to come but he's not ready for this to be over just yet. College is new and scary and exciting and terrifying all at once. Everything is going to change.

Someone chaps on the door but they both ignore it, holding each other, like if they don't open the bathroom door then they can stay in their own little world forever. Liam buries his face against Mason's neck and they start swaying on the spot. Mason can tell Liam is just as excited, just as nervous about tomorrow.

"God, I'm so in love with you."

They both freeze, pulling back and staring at each other wide-eyed. Mason's stomach does something awful and swooping, and he's glad the toilet is right there because he might need to throw up in it. The bathroom is too small and he feels strange all over, stuck in this alternate reality with Liam which is always created by bathrooms at parties, like for the short time you're in there you get removed from your normal plane of existence. Except it's dragging out and dragging out, and neither of them are saying anything, just staring at each other.

“I can’t believe I just said that.”

"Wait. Just. _You're_  in love with _me_?" Mason asks incredulously. Liam finally averts his eyes, staring at a spot on the floor.

"Yeah," he whispers.

"Liam." Mason squares his hands on Liam's shoulders. "Liam, look at me."

It takes a few moments but Liam finally meets his gaze again. Mason hates how worried he looks.

"Liam, I'm in... I'm in love with you too."

This time Liam is the one who looks unconvinced. "You're kidding."

"I'm really, really not. I've been in love with you for years."

A laugh escapes him, manic and too loud in the bathroom, and suddenly Liam is latching onto him again and guiding him backwards until he hits the wall.

"Really? Years?" he asks, voice still small and uncertain. Mason nods to confirm. "Me too."

And Mason's heart is expanding in his chest, full, so full, and he can't even enjoy it properly because tonight is supposed to be _goodbye_ , the end of things as they know them, not the start of something, but fuck it if he isn't going to take what he can get.

So he kisses Liam.

Liam jumps, caught off guard, breaking the kiss as quickly as it started. However before Mason has the chance to feel dejected, Liam is kissing him again, doing his best to rove his hands up beneath Mason's tight button-up shirt. Mason has wanted this for so long that he almost doesn't know what to do with himself. But this is Liam, his best friend since they were kids, and the one thing they never are around each other is awkward. So he kisses Liam back and pulls him closer, closer, until he swears he can feel Liam's heart pounding in his chest, just as hard as his own is.

Kissing Liam almost feels as natural as breathing, somehow, like it's only natural that after being best friends for so long, Liam has become an extension of him. He doesn't even notice the transition between kissing and simply breathing against each other's mouths.

"We've lost so much time," Liam laments, so close that Mason can feel his lips moving as he speaks.

Mason squeezes him tighter. "I'm willing to try if you are."

"Huh?"

"Long distance. We were already gonna be doing a long distance friendship, a relationship can't be too much of a stretch. Right?"

"I'm not losing you," Liam says, planting the softest ghost of a kiss on Mason's lips. It's a promise.

There's no telling how things might have turned out if one of them revealed their feelings sooner. What matters is they both know now. College is going to be a new beginning for both of them in more ways than one.


End file.
